


Sometimes the villains win. (Sometimes)

by Ameliapll



Series: Flash pairings [1]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Age Difference, Angst with a Happy Ending, Autistic Character, Autistic! Hartley Rathaway, Everyone Is Gay, Harrison Wells is a creep, Len is protective of the Rogues, M/M, Multi, So much angst, Tony Woodward is a rogue, and no one likes him, angsty backstories for all, happy! Barry Allen, mentions of abuse, mentions of emotional manipulation, protective! Cisco Ramon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-20
Updated: 2017-06-01
Packaged: 2018-07-25 18:04:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 10,857
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7542589
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ameliapll/pseuds/Ameliapll
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Anthony "Tony" Woodward, Michael "Mick" Rory, Leonard Snart and Hartley Rathaway end up finding love with people they don't think they deserve.</p><p>Hartmon, Coldflash, HeatStorm, EddieTony.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. 1

_"Mom, dad. There's something I need to tell you," Hartley Rathaway said. His parents smiled at him with perfect white teeth. Hartley smiled back, steeled his nerves, and told them how he met Raphael, and how he kissed Hartley like he was something precious and delicate. How Raphael ruffled his hair, called him Prince Charming and held hands with Hartley under the desk._

 

_How Raphael was **beautiful,** with long dark hair and wide brown eyes and a smile that melted Hartley's walls. _

 

_And his parents stopped smiling. His mother covered her mouth in shock. His father tensed._

 

_"Mom, dad...I'm gay."  Hartley said before looking up at his parents._

 

_"Oh, **Hartley."** his mother wailed, looking genuinely distraught._

 

_"Do you have any idea what this could **do to us?** What were you thinking? I won't let this ruin Rathaway industries. Get out of my house." His father snapped, a sneer on his lips as he looked at what he once called "The pride of his life, his Hart." His mother still hadn't looked at him._

_And Hartley ran out of the house, tears burning in his eyes as he called Raphael._

 

_"Hart? Now's not a good time. Can I call you back?"  Raphael asked, uncomfortable._

 

_"I need you, Raph." Hartley whimpered, trying to block the burning sensation inside his eyes._

 

_"Hart...I'm gonna call you back." Raphael said. Just before he hung up, a voice said in the background, "I thought you said you would break up with him. What the hell?"_

 

_So his parents dumped him and his boyfriend was cheating on him. Fan-fucking-tastic. As he crossed the street, he heard a noise and saw two men approaching him._

 

_"Who the hell are you and why are you wandering on Rogue territory?" demanded the first one, wearing a **parka** of all things, as he pointed a gun at Hartley._

 

_"J-j-just do it." Hartley said, shaking. "I'm Hartley, and I...had no idea this was Rogue territory. My parents just kicked me out and my boyfriends cheating on me. No one would care if you just did it, so please. Go ahead."_

_"Hartley." the man tested it out on his tongue, "Rathaway? I've seen pictures of you in the paper. You're good at science and engineering, recently got a job at S.T.A.R. labs? You'd be a real asset to the Rogues, making us weapons."_

 

_"I-I would?" Hartley stammered._

 

_"Oh, drop the gun, Lenny. Not only is he a good asset to the team, he's **very** adorable." a female voice said behind him, causing him to turn. A tall woman in high heels with blue eyes and long curly brown hair stepped out of the shadows. _

 

_"If you want me to work with you, then I need to know who you are," Hartley said, sounding braver than he felt._

 

_"I'm Lisa, that's Lenny and behind him is Micky." Lisa said, a glossy red smile crossing her lips as she winked at Hartley_

 

_"Lisa, he's gay." Lenny warned, though there was a bit of amusement on his face._

_"What would be the benefits of me working for you?" Hartley asked_

 

_"You'd get a house, place to sleep, and money from our heists. You'd also build an infamous name for yourself too." Lenny said._

 

_"Then count me in."  Hartley declared_

 

**_one year later._ **

_"Checkmate," Hartley said, laughing incredulously to himself as Harrison Wells beat him yet again. A knock at the door caused the two to look up._

 

_"Dr. Wells?" A male with a ponytail and dark eyes asked. **Raphael.** Hartley felt his pulse race- he was used to being ignored by everyone but Wells and sometimes Ronnie here, but with Raphael...Raphael could bring up Hartley's past. He could embarrass him. Humiliate. He didn't realise he was staring at the male until Harrison spoke._

_"There he is. Hartley, allow me to introduce you to Cisco Ramon. Mr. Ramon here is one of the finest mechanical engineers I have ever seen." So not Raphael. But he looked so much like him, it made Hartley feel scared. And Harrison never introduced him to new people. **He's going to replace me. Harrison already likes him more than me.**_

 

 

_"Wow, I can't believe Harrison Wells said that about me." Cisco Ramon said with a big smile and it reminded Hartley of a little boy with grey-green eyes whose father had told him that he was always his son, and then a teenager who thought he knew what love meant and spent the night with a gun pressed to his head as he detailed a new job._

_Memories of being beaten, attacked, even almost stabbed once, by people his father hired when he wouldn't stop calling, begging to come home. He would change, he would be perfect again, dredged up in Hartley's mind._

_So when he was introduced to speak, he let himself lash out, attacking Cisco's speech and his clothes...it was better to hurt someone before they hurt you. That was what he lived by, always and forever._

 

 


	2. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW-  
> Abuse mentioned at start

Leonard Snart knows things about the world

He knows the little things- how Mick smells like ashes and burnt sugar. How Lisa spends hours in front of the mirror each day, getting her makeup perfect out of habit. How Shawna got Mick and Hartley wrapped around her little finger in a week. How Hartley spends late night after late night feeding the  _vermin_ that live in the walls. How Tony prefers "V" necks and jeans to formal clothes. 

He also knows the big things.  
He knows Mick Rory's entire family died in a fire, and he was the only survivor.  
He knows Lisa used to be a talented ice skater, but his father beat it out of her when she was fourteen.  
He knows Shawna and Hartley act tough and above it all but are secretly desperate for love.  
He knows Tony Woodward is gay and his father tried to kill him when he found out.

He knows the police in this town talk real fancy, but have no idea what they're doing.

But the one thing Leonard Snart will never know fully is Barry.

Barry with his green doe eyes, brown hair and red lips. Barry who's been through unspeakable horrors but still has the innocent logic of a five year old- that the villain can change, he doesn't have to lurk in the dark all the time.

Barry who's the only policeman who's ever tried to work Len out.

Barry who stares at Len with soft eyes and parted lips, who smiles at him like the sun's coming out after years and years of rain. Barry who kissed Len softly and gently, like Len wasn't a villain, wasn't a criminal, but was someone delicate and breakable and then looked at Len so curiously, the older man could have cried.

 

And Barry, who hadn't talked to him since. Leonard Snart may not have completed high school, but he was smart enough to know when somebody was avoiding him. So a wounded Len decided to hold a heist. There was a new jewellery shop opening soon, and his little sister had always liked sparkly things. Of course, Caitlin or Iris or whoever Lisa was seeing this week could also get it for her, but it was also a  way to get the whole lot of them to stop moping. 

 

Lisa and Hartley were to be the cover-a good looking couple who fawned over all the jewellery, looking at engagement rings. Then her "phone would ring" and she would go to get it while Hartley grumbled about how she  _always_ did this. 

 

While outside, she would talk to Len and Shawna about the number of police men. Mick and Tony would hold the place up- the two burliest men would easily overpower security guards and anyone who tried to get in their way while Len and Shawna tried to hold back the security guards. 

 

The plan would have been perfect- except that the goddamned  _fucking_ Scarlet Speedster showed up while Mick was setting fire to this and Tony was punching in that. 

 

" _Snart! You don't have to do this!"_ yelled Barry, letting his voice change. 

 

"No,  _Flash,_ I don't have to. I want to." Len sneered. Shawna chuckled and went back to the heist. Suddenly, Barry flashed forwards and grabbed Hartley, one arm around his throat and one around his waist. 

 

"Stop the heist." Barry commanded, staring at Len challengingly. 

"Wow," Len chuckled bitterly, turning to face the crowd, " _this_ is the man you call a hero, ladies and gents! Threatening an innocent person like Hart! Someone who posed no threat!" He turned to Barry, "go ahead."

"Len," Hartley whimpered, his eyes very big and very blue. Len tried to convert a message to Hartley with his eyes and a second later, Mick had knocked Barry out. After stealing a pair of earrings for Lisa and a charm bracelet for Shawna, the Rogues left, a line of leather jackets and boots and shining guns.

"Sorry, Flash," Len shrugged, stepping over Barry's body, "But you really should learn how to communicate."  

 


	3. 3

Mick Rory was fascinated by fire. The red-orange embers, the flickering light, the smoke. He also liked the pain, the burn when he held a match or lighter to his skin and barely flinched as the flesh discoloured.

 

So imagine his surprise when word came of a  _burning man._ A man who's eyes lit up, purely white, who flew into the air with flames trailing after him, long hair and torn clothes fluttering as he rose. Mick had to learn more.

 

After using photoshop and several websites, it became very clear that the Burning Man was called Ronnie Raymond, and he was fucking beautiful. All ink black hair and sea blue eyes. It was no wonder the fire, also beautiful, had drifted to him. _Chosen_ him. Mick tried to imagine it- being high above the world, just him and the flame. It caused a shudder to go down his spine at the mere thought of it.

 

And it wasn't like he  _meant_ to start stalking Robbie. But he found, day after day, he'd be on his Facebook page, staring at pictures of him smiling with the doctor, Snow, or her Colombian friend, or the man who blew up Central City, creating the Flash. 

 

Len caught him one day, scolded him half-heartedly with a, "Mi _ck._ Don't go there." He may be younger than Mick, but Len's always been the smarter of the two, and Mick accidentally pushes his partner further with a, "Why? You did, with Flash." 

 

They fought until Lisa pulled them apart with a red pout and a, "You know I don't like it when you two fight." 

\--------------------------------------

A week later, Mick sits in his car after grocery shopping when, from the corner of his eye, he sees a burst of light. And the burning man- Ronnie- is right there, right near him, and he's even more beautiful than Mick had thought.

 

He seems to just be waiting, so Mick slowly steps out of the car, approaching him, trying to discern whether the beautiful, burning man is a threat or will hurt him.

 

"Ronnie- Ronald." Mick says softly, unsure if this is the right thing to say when the white eyes turn to him.

 

"You know...who part of me is." He blinks in surprise.

 

"I photoshopped your profile picture on Facebook," Mick says softly and he's ten years old and meeting his hero. (Too bad time's gone by and he doesn't have any heroes anymore.)

 

A strangled, gravelly noise comes from Ronnie's throat and it takes Mick a second to realise that it's a  _laugh._ He looks up and his eyes bore into Mick's. "I've heard of you. You're the pyromaniac. Michael Rory?"  _  
_

" _Mick._ And yeah, yeah I am." Mick says. 

 

"I have to go. Stop looking for me,  _Mick._ " Ronnie says and launches into the air, Mick staring at the slight burn on the pavement where he stood. 

 

He gets back to the safehouse and finds Len and Lisa on the couch, a pair of ice blue eyes turning to him once he enters.

so

"Where were you?" Len asks softly

 

"You were right, Snart. Shouldn'tve gone there." said Mick quietly and Lisa stands on her toes to give him a hug. After she parts, he smiles sadly at her and moves to go upstairs.

 

"Mick," Len calls and when Mick turns back to look at him, he says nothing. Just looks at Mick quietly.

 

"I know." Mick says as he continues to his room, ready to embrace the silent blackness of his dreams. 


	4. 4

 

_Seven_

_“Daddy, I wanna be a police officer!” Tony Woodward told his father. At this young age, Tony had messy blonde hair and wide brown eyes, untainted by the violence that would enter his life soon after._

_“Why’d you wanna do that?” Jeffery Woodward scoffed, pulling out his phone and texting his girlfriend._

_“Are you talking to mommy?” Tony wanted to know, “and I wanna do it because I wanna make the world a good place.”_

_“Yeah, I’m talking to your mom,” Jeffery lied, trying not to roll his eyes at his son’s naivety, “Anthony, the world will be a terrible place whether you’re a police officer or not. You may as well do something you’ll be somewhat decent at, though I can’t imagine what that would be.”_

_Tony’s face fell and his eyes widened in hurt. Jeffery shifted, wondering when this night would be over and he could visit Veronica._

_He missed the green eyed boy glancing worriedly at Tony as his son’s eyes filled with tears._

_Nine._

_“Dad, I like someone in my year, and I wanted to know what you thought.” Tony said softly. At nine, his eyes were harder, made to block out the emotion and pain and hurt he’d been through._

_“What’s her name?” Jeffery said, in a good mood for once._

_“ **His** name’s Barry,” Tony said, letting a dopey smile cross his face, not seeing how his father’s face darkened considerably. Tony began to tell his father all the good things about Barry- his light, his green-brown eyes, his smile, his caring nature, the way he bumped Tony’s hand on the way back from gym._

_“Tony-“Jeffery said, his voice changing and becoming low, angry._

_“I think I love him, dad,” Tony said quietly, honestly._

_“That’s enough of that nonsense!” Jeffery snarled, slapping Tony, hard. Tony let out a small cry and instantly regretted it._

_“He’s made you weak, son. It’s up to me to see how weak you really are.” A hand grabbed Tony’s throat..._

_Alicia Woodward came home later, to find her only son unconscious, her husband sneering over his body. She must’ve cried out and ran, calling the police department. Her memory was foggy, hazy, and the next day, she woke up and found Tony at school and her husband arrested._

**_The next day._ **

_“Tony, Joe said the police came to your house last night!” Barry cried, rushing over to the other boy, who turned and regarded him coolly, but Barry didn’t understand the iciness in Tony’s eyes as he reached automatically for the blonde’s hand._

_“What are you doing?” Tony asked, his heart pounding in his ears, his neck alternatively throbbing, seemingly in time with the phrase, **love makes you weak.**_

_“What d’you mean, what am I doing?” Barry asked, looking wounded. Love. Makes. You. Weak. Pain, a hand on his throat, cancelling air from his lungs._

_“Stay away from me!” Tony snarled, physically yanking himself away from Barry and storming away. His dramatic exit went astray when he heard Barry’s pathetic whimper, “Can’t we just be friends?”_

Now

“Let _go_ of me!” Tony Woodward grunted as Allen placed a pair of anti-metal handcuffs around his wrists.

“Anthony Woodward, you’re under arrest for assault and battery, bribery, disturbing the peace, drunk and disorderly behaviour, disorderly conduct, and shoplifting. You also have an arrest for evading police capture, via a high-speed chase which almost injured dozens of people. You have the right to remain silent. If you  _do say_  anything, what you  _say_  can be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to consult with a lawyer and have that lawyer present during any questioning. If you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be appointed for you if you so desire.” Joe West said, a smug tone coating his words. Tony stayed silent and let Allen drag him to an inquisition room.

“Tony,” Allen said, sympathy and pity lacing his voice, “I’m not going to lie, you’re a dick. But something _horrible_ happened to you when you were young. Don’t let it define you. You’re so much more than your father-“

“ _Don’t._ ” Tony said, his voice hardening.

“Tony, Joe told me everything. And I forgive you. I-I remember, we were friends once. More. But then something happened and you started to hate me. God, I was confused. But Joe told me the _truth._ You have a chance at redemption. Don’t lose it this time,” Allen said in a sincere tone.

“Well, West’s a bastard who doesn’t understand the term privacy.” spat Tony, struggling to keep his emotions under wrap.

“I’ve got to go now, but remember what I said- this is your second chance.” And then Allen left and Tony groaned, buckling forwards into his hand.

“Anthony Woodward, my name is Detective Joe West, and this is my partner, Officer Edward Thawne. We’re going to ask you some questions to do with the crimes you’ve committed. As I said before, you are free to request a lawyer at any time and one will be appointed to you. You’re allowed access of your rights, and you have the right to remain silent at any given moment,” Tony looked up- Joe still looked smug, but there was a slightly sympathetic gleam in his eye. Chances were, he knew about The Incident with his _loving_ father.

And Edward? Edward was the kind of man who Tony would have avoided at the clubs he attended- too _pristine,_ too pretty for the criminal mind of him. All golden hair and sea blue eyes and a _justthere_ amount of stubble on his chin. The kind of Prince Charming Snow White and Sleeping Beauty would have woken up for.

Unfortunately for Edward, Tony was no lily-white princess with grace and elegance.

Which is why their first meeting wasn’t in an appropriately lit bedroom or forest, but in a police inquisition room, fluorescent lights flickering above them. Which is why Tony Woodward hardened his jaw, looked Joe West in the eye and smiled coldly, “Ask away.”


	5. 5

The text message read, simply, _very clever._ Hartley stared at his phone, heart racing. He hadn’t meant to do it. He knew Harrison Wells was somehow a speedster. A speedster who he had attacked and tried to kill.

 _Very clever._ Hartley knew it. He was going to die. He was going to be murdered by the last father figure he had known.

Red lightning flickered outside, and Hartley heard a pathetic whimper. It took him a moment to realise it was his own voice, scared and shaky. And then a window shattered.

“Hello, Hartley.” Harrison smiled dangerously, coldly.

“H-Harrison. Don’t. Don’t do this. I-it was a big misunderstanding. I’ll- I’ll leave Central City. Just, please, don’t do this,” Hartley pleaded, shaking.

“But that’s no _fun,_ ” Harrison said softly, touching Hartley’s cheek. For some reason, the gesture terrified Hartley more than the idea of Harrison murdering him. Maybe it was because Harrison had done the same thing to Hartley so many times in the past, and Hartley (foolish and naïve) had smiled up at him, feeling safe with _someone he trusted._

“Then what would be fun?” Hartley swallowed, nervous.

“Killing you,” Harrison said softly. “Believe it or not, Hartley, you really were like my son once. My friend. I enjoyed spending time with you, playing chess...and then you almost ruined my plans. So I had to fire you. I regretted it, truly. But you let your anger consume you, let it destine your plans. You almost hurt my Flash, and for that, you have to die.”

And his hand vibrated in mid-air and slowly, he lowered his arm down to Hartley’s chest. Hartley swallowed, _would it hurt?_

Eyes fluttering shut, Hartley wondered what his parents would think when they heard the news. _Disowned son found dead._ Would they cry, regret casting him out? Or would they change the channel, refusing to even hear about the son they once loved?

Just as Hartley accepted his death, there was an awful noise, like metal screeching. “No,” a deep, dark voice growled. Hartley opened his eyes. A tall, muscular blonde stood in front of him, his solid metal fist surrounding Harrison’s hand. From where she was carefully perched on the window, making sure not to sit in any broken glass, Lisa smirked at Hartley, letting one eye close in a wink.

“Tony Woodward. Thought you were arrested,” Harrison said, not letting his fear cloud his voice.

“Haven’t met a Rogue we couldn’t break out of jail,” chirruped Lisa, practically skipping into the room, “We track Hartley’s phone. He has an awful habit of getting into fights with, well, everyone. So we try and make sure he’s safe. Imagine our surprise when he gets a text from _you._ ”

“ 'Our' surprise?” Harrison asked, before a whine filled the air, and an ice blue shot was fired from outside the window, hitting Harrison’s middle and causing him to roar in pain. His eyes glowed red with fury, “when I get out of here, I will kill each of you. One. By. One.”

“Can’t do that if your feet are solid gold,” Lisa smirked, pressing the trigger on her gold gun and letting the substance coat his feet.

“Is this the Flash’s number I see in my phone,” Len asked, a mocking, shocked tone to his voice. “Imagine if he comes here and sees you like this...evil. Helpless.”

“You wouldn’t.” Harrison warned. Len pressed the dial button.

“I just did. C’mon Hart, let’s go.”

In the car on the way back, Hartley was introduced to Tony Woodward, a hothead who had the ability to turn his limbs to metal and stop speed.

Although Hartley found him attractive, certainly, he was far too _boorish_ and immature for the genius.

“He’s cute,” Shawna said encouragingly once they got inside and out of earshot.

“Almost died, completely not traumatised, thanks. And he may be cute, but not my type,” Hartley rolled his slate-grey eyes.

“So, what is your type?” Shawna offered. For some reason, a pair of wide puppy-dog brown eyes flashed into Hartley’s mind.

“ _Not_ Tony,” he said, only half lying.

“Hey. You know you can tell me when you get a date, right?” Shawna offered.

“Yeah, yeah, I do, Shawna, thanks.” Hartley smiled softly, genuinely.

That night, Hartley lay awake. His damn conscious was bothering him again, taunting him with memories of a boy with a _Keep Calm_ shirt and ponytail who was _so excited_ to meet his idol. He sighed, got out of bed, and sent Cisco a text message.

_Don’t trust HWells. He tried to kill me. He’s a speedster, like the Flash_

Feeling much better about himself, he got back into bed...only for his phone to ring a second later.

“What do you mean, he tried to kill you? He’s not a speedster, he’s in a wheelchair!” Cisco said, in lieu of a hello as soon as Hartley picked up the phone.

Hartley sighed and told his story. There was silence for 45 seconds.

“Crap, you’re not kidding.” Cisco sounded more world-weary than he should have. Hartley shook off any feeling of remorse for breaking his bubble of innocence when it came to his boss.

“Wish I was. He made this whole speech about how I was like his _son,_ and he _had_ to kill me because I hurt his beloved Flash.”

“Are _you_ okay, Hartley? It sounded horrible, but to actually go through it...” Cisco’s voice was caring and soft. It made Hartley want to cry, but he swallowed, blinking back the burning tears in his eyes.

“Not today, y’know, but maybe one day...maybe one day I’ll think back on this moment and not laugh, but wonder how someone as smart as me got duped so easily,”

“Yeah.” Cisco said. The two talked for several more hours. Hartley’s smile widened and he relaxed. It was only when his phone died did he realise he’d talked with _Ramon,_ of all people, for six hours.

Hartley really should have expected it.  They were on another mission- this time to S.T.A.R. labs. Hartley was pretty sure it was because of a mix between Len, Shawna and Lisa seeing their specific others, and also because of the damn tracking device on his phone. Which he was grateful for. If it weren’t for Lisa’s keen interest in breaking the law, invasion of privacy and her willingness to protect Hartley from literally _everything,_ he would be dead right now.

Dead.

The word sounded weird and awful, just thinking about it. Hartley would be dead. Would anyone- aside from the Rogues, who might actually be slightly _grateful_ they didn’t have to kill him themselves- _care?_

“Hey. What are you thinking about?” Mark asked. He and Shawna held back, the girl looping his arm through hers and holding him a bit too protectively.

“Harrison Wells. His hand. Dying.” Hartley answered. If it were Len, Lisa or Mick, he would have lied. But his kinship with Mark and Shawna meant everything to him, so he stayed honest. He only hid the nightmare he had where he came to the SafeHouse to find all the Rogues dead. _Lisa made into a shining gold statue. An awful, burnt Mick. Len completely frozen.  Electrocuted Mark. Shawna with blood staining her midriff and throat. Even Tony showed up dead- in Hartley’s bed. He had bruises around his throat._

_“You should be dead. This is your punishment,” said Harrison from behind him. Hartley whirled around only to have a knife slashed into his cheek_

_  
“I’m going to kill you just as slowly as I did them,” Harrison said, leaning down to Hartley’s level._ That was when he’d woken up in a cold sweat. But there was no use worrying them, so he left it.

Just the way he always did.

With the things he wanted to say left unsaid.


	6. 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning: 
> 
> \- Mentions of child abuse  
> \- Violence  
> \- SO MUCH VIOLENCE  
> \- terrible things happen.  
> \- ANGST  
> \- whump

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is the longest chapter I've written so far: 13 pages. I hope you enjoy this and look forwards to the next installment, in Mick's POV. 
> 
> Also:  
> In between Tony's POV (chapter after Mick's) and Hartley's POV, would anyone be interested if I incorporated Shawna, Lisa, Mark and Axel's POVS for a couple of shorter chapters?

 

Len Snart felt something twist at his stomach. Fear, maybe. Trying to swallow around the rock in his throat, he drank his iced coffee, not taking his eyes off the message.

_From: Lise_

_Lewis has gotten out of jail. Be careful, big brother._

Frantically texting her back, Len made sure to glance around the coffee shop. _No Lewis. None of his crooked friends._

_From Lenny:_

_Don’t go **anywhere** alone. Take Shawna with you, she can teleport you out of there. Whatever happens, I love you, Lise. You know that._

Putting his phone down, ignoring the vibrates, Len sighed. And then a hand clapped down on his shoulder.

_Leonard Snart was 13. He walked into a dark house, feeling incredibly stupid. He shouldn’t have ditched. But Mick wanted to talk to him, and it was **Mick.** Len was never able to say no to him. As he continued into the house, a large hand gripped his shoulder and whirled him around. _

_“Dad...” Leonard said, hating the fear in his voice._

_“Your teachers sent me an email. Said you weren’t in class. Don’t you know, **boy,** how your actions reflect on me?” Lewis said, deathly calm._

_“’m sorry. It won’t happen again,”_

_“No. It won’t.” Lewis said, before slamming his fist into Len’s face_

Whirling around, Leonard slammed his arm into his assailant’s throat, glaring into the wide green eyes who stared at him in surprise.

“Snart...” croaked Barry.

_Lisa was crying. Len groaned. He wouldn’t be able to focus at school tomorrow, fail, and Lewis would kill him. Creeping out of his room, he entered the infant’s room and picked her up, rocking her slightly. She looked up at him curiously, and gurgled something that sounded like **Lenny.**_

_“Yeah, kid. Lenny’s here. Gonna protect you from the world, Lise.” Leonard whispered. Lisa cooed unintelligibly and he found himself smiling._

“Barry!” Len said, dropping him. The speedster gasped.

“Lewis...out of jail. Wanted to make sure you were o...kay.” Barry wheezed.

“I’m fine, kid.” Len sighed, waving away the startled stares, and dropping to his knees besides Barry. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Barry panted, air finally flowing through his throat.

“Good,” Len said, nodding softly.

“Let’s talk outside,” Barry suggested, following the older man outside.

 

Leonard walked outside and turned around. Barry wasn’t there.

“Scarlet?” he whispered. And a hand clapped on his shoulder. Turning around, Leonard gaped at the sight of his dad, holding Barry’s limp and bloody body.

“He made you soft, son.” Lewis shook his head. “I can’t have a soft son,” The bloody knife was then shoved under his chin.

And then he woke up.

He had told Lisa the nightmares about Lewis had stopped a long time ago, and somewhere along the way, he’d started to believe it. Somewhere along the way, he’d stopped drinking himself to sleep. Had started dreaming of a blackness, punctuated only by icy blue. And he’d _never_ dreamt of Barry being used against him.

Of course, it wasn’t _abnormal,_ Barry being used against him. All he had to do was say _Flash,_ and Mick, Lisa and everyone else in this damn team of Rogues would begin _accusing_ him of being obsessed.

But this was mostly done in jest. Not in the violently serious way Lewis had. Wandering downstairs, he noticed all the Rogues missing- apart from Lisa and Mick.

“Lenny, you were _screaming_ last night,” Lisa said. Her skin was pale, she wasn’t wearing any makeup and she looked scared. _She was 7 and instead of giving her hugs, Daddy was giving her drugs to make sure she wouldn’t be in pain and would **act normal.**_

“I’m fine,” Len mumbled.

“Bull,” Mick snorted, downing a glass of what Len presumed was orange juice. Of course, it could have been liquor as well.

“Lenny. Don’t be an ass, let me be here for you,” Lisa scolded, her blue eyes turning sad and puppy-dog like as she pouted at him.

“Lise, I’ll be fine. Okay? Look, recently, how many times have I had a nightmare?” Len said.

“This was...” Lisa closed her eyes, thinking about it.

“The second time. This week.” Mick raised an eyebrow. Attempting to protest, Len opened and closed his mouth, but found he couldn’t argue. Silence fell over the three. 

“You should tell Hartley,” Lisa suddenly said.

“ _Lisa._ ” Mick groaned.

“He’s been having nightmares, too. He doesn’t...wake up like you do. But every morning, before dawn, he gets up and doesn’t go back to sleep. He’s not healthy, and soon, neither of you will be.” Lisa said. Len paused. _He hasn’t been sleeping._

“ _Lisa,”_ Mick growled.

“It’s just as good an idea as any.” shrugged the brunette.

“No,” Len shook his head, waving away the idea. “I can talk to him about his nightmares, but I don’t want him knowing about mine. He wouldn’t understand,”

“I had an idea, too.” Mick said, ignoring Lisa’s eye roll.

“What is it?”

“Burn stuff.”

“That’s...” _ridiculous. Never going to happen. Sorry, Mick._ “Not such a bad idea.”

“What?” Lisa protested, fists clenching.

“Get the Rogues. We’re committing a raid,” Leonard Snart smirked. Realisation dawned in his companion’s eyes and they readily returned it.

Leonard Snart looked at his Rogues. His _family._ Lisa, Mick, Mark, Hart, Shawna, and now Tony all looked back at him, waiting for their next instruction.

And then he told them the plan- it was to be larger than life, all glitter and confetti and jewels and fire, ice and gold.

It would be beautiful. He knew that was normally Mick’s line, but he didn’t care.

“I know someone who can help,” Hartley declared, a small smile on his face.

“Who?” Len asked, leaning forwards and resting his head in his hand. Hartley shifted nervously, “I’ll bring him in, okay? Once you meet him, you can make up your mind.” Before anyone could answer, Hartley had run out of there so fast, if Len didn’t know any better, he would have sworn he was the Flash.

Lisa smiled sweetly, crossing one leg over the other, “So, when do we start?”

“Absolutely not,” Leonard Snart said, turning away from Hartley and his goddamned puppy eyes. “No, no, no, no, no.”

“Please?” Hartley whined.

“What was rule number three, Rathaway?”

“Don’t hook up with your sister? I think you and I both know that I follow that rule _very_ well,”

“Rule number four,”

“No terrorist- Axel’s not a terrorist!” Hartley protested. Len turned around to see Hartley standing protectively in front of a black haired man who smiled very sweetly at him. Sickeningly so.

“ _Trickster,”_ Len hissed, folding his arms. “I’ve seen you on TV. You tried to blow up  children. What, did you try to do this to get Daddy’s attention?” These words made Axel’s face to fall, and caused Hartley to narrow his eyes furiously.

“A word, please, Snart?”  Hartley asked very formally, and Len knew he was in the doghouse. But he followed Hartley anyway, not quite believing his eyes when Hartley stood on his toes and gave Axel a sympathetic hug,

“How’d you even meet this guy, Hart?” snorted Len.

“When I was disowned, after I started working with you, I would go to...shelters. Homeless ones. To talk to people, give money, make friends. I thought maybe you would get tired of me and force me to leave? So I wanted to build up associations, just in case. And I met Axel. He’d run away, after discovering his father wasn’t his father. He wanted to do a project on notorious criminals, and that’s how he ended up talking to Jesse. Len, the _bastard_ manipulated Axel since he was 14. 14! And then he lied, said he was Axel’s father, and he believed it. So Axel hurt a lot of children, and a lot of people, and yeah, it was to get Jesse’s attention. Because it was _his plan the whole time,_ ” Hartley finished his rant by breathing heavily,

“Oh,” was all Len could say. Hartley nodded earnestly, big blue eyes wide with honesty. _Damn it._

“We’ll trial it,” Len said after a moment. Hartley looked _overjoyed._ Like he’d just discovered a new scientific discovery.

It made Len’s heart burn. He hadn’t smiled like that in a long time.

“What, do you hold up bars now, Snart?” Barry scoffed, folding his arms as he sank into the seat across from Len.

“Is it possible,” Len asked, slowly glancing up at his not-quite-rival anymore, “to get a drink _without_ being accused of thievery?”

“If it’s past 1:00 in the morning, no.” Barry said, an amused smile crossing his face. “Seriously, is everything alright?” He looks stricken as a thought comes to him, “is _Lisa_ alright?” Len closed his eyes again and regretted ever introducing his little sister to _Barry._

“Lisa’s fine, kid. As am I. Just needed a drink. Dealing with Mick and Lisa, and the Rogues.” Len drank again. Barry put a hand on his arm, “I actually have a question about the Rogues. Someone broke Axel Walker- you know, the Trickster II- out of jail. Was it you? I know you always have a, uh, _thing_ for prison breaks.” Barry’s eyes widened in a way that was _not_ very subtle.

“I didn’t break Walker out.” Len said, choosing his words carefully. He didn’t want to implicate Hartley in anything, but he wanted to be honest with Barry, because...well, he wasn’t sure why.

“Right,” Barry nodded, looking almost offensively unconvinced.  And then he gently took the glass away from Len, “I’ll drive you home.”

“I’m _fine,_ Scarlet,” Len sighed, not wanting to accept the harsh reality of his dreams.

“I’ll call Lisa, then, and she can take you home,” Barry _smirked_ (And it looked so off on the nerd’s face) as he dangled his phone in front of Len with two fingers, “speaking of, why did you call me the other day?”

“Talk to the Good Doctor,” Len spat, tensing slightly. Barry only looked confused.

“Caitlin? Why would you be upset with Cait?”

“The other doctor,” the elder male rolled his eyes.

“Wells? But...you know about him, too?”

“What’re you talking about?” Len eyed Barry who had gone wide eyed in confusion. Barry looked around before leaning into Len, the feel of his body warmth almost too intimate.

“Joe, Cisco and I think Harrison Wells is the Reverse Flash, the Man in the Yellow Suit,” Barry whispered, “Snart, I think he killed my _mom,_ ”

“You need to talk to Hartley. Get your team, I’ll get mine.” Len said, matching the intensity in his tone.

Barry stood in front of his team, who were all glaring at the other team suspiciously.

“We both have a common goal. Harrison Wells is a speedster, the Reverse Flash,” Len drawled.

“Barry, why would you think it would be a good idea to work with them? They doublecrossed us once, and that was _without_ Tony or Axel,” Caitlin asked

“To be perfectly fair,” Mardon protested, looking indignant, “you locked us in a cage, gassed us, and tried to fly us out of the country without telling anyone.”

“You tried to kill all of Central City in a tsunami!”

“Well, he killed my brother!”

“ _Mardon. Enough.”_ Len snapped, holding up a palm.

“Cait, it’s okay!” Barry said gently, exchanging a weary look with Len.

“What’s the plan?” Cisco asked finally.

“We need to prove that Harrison Wells is the reverse Flash, the man in yellow, the-“

“You are not nicknaming him,” Barry said, a note of disbelief in his tone. Len smirked.

“So, what are we going to do?” Shawna asked, after exchanging a look with Mark.

“Are you in?” Len countered, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah.” Mark said after a very unsubtle glance at Hartley, “yeah we are.”

“Snart.” Barry called, running after Leonard.

“Yeah, Scarlet?” Len said, turning around to face the slightly smaller kid.

“I just wanted to say...thanks. I didn’t know I could trust you, but now...now I do. Because you wouldn’t have let us know who your Rogues are, your _family,_ if you didn’t trust us.” Barry said. His tone was genuine. _Your family._

“S’alright. You’d just better not double cross us,” Len said, allowing a slightly genuine smile to cross his lips.

“Please,” Barry scoffed, raising an eyebrow, “if anyone’s double crossing anyone, you would be double crossing us.”

“Barry, your lack of faith in me is truly astounding.” Len said, feigning hurt as he took a step closer to Barry.

“I’m sure you’ll live without my faith in you,” Barry said, also taking a step closer. The two looked at each other for a moment. Unsure of what else to do, Barry took another step closer.  

“Guys, you need to see this- was I interrupting something?” Cisco called, running into the room.

Barry looked at Len and then away, “No. You didn’t. What’s happening, Cisco?”

Following Cisco and Barry back, Len thought about what _could_ have happened if Cisco didn’t come in.

He tried to convince himself that the feeling in his stomach was hunger. Because it definitely wasn’t the feeling he had when his father went from being in a Good Mood to when he would suddenly turn around and hurt Len.

“There’s more than one evil speedster?” Lisa Snart asked in disbelief. The gold bangles on her left arm rattled as she placed her fist to her hip.

“I guess that’s how the Reverse Flash gets around,” Cisco said, looking slightly sick. A news report danced around the TV screen.

“More than one Flash? It appears that there is more than one speedster, and they’re up to no good. Apart from the man in red, there has been reports of a man in yellow and a man in black terrorising Central. So has the Flash gone Rogue, or is he completely innocent? Either way, we at Central City Picture News, hope this madness ends. I’m Linda Park, more after the break.”

“I have an idea.” Cisco said, looking sick. “And I need someone to come up with a better one so we don’t have to do it,”

“Well, Cisquito?” Hartley asked impatiently, tapping his foot against the ground. Despite his high-and-mighty attitude, he, too, looked anxious and worried.

“There’s only one person that Wells has been actively targeting with his speed. Someone he’s tried to kill, but has failed at.” Cisco said.

“Hartley,” Caitlin said. An odd look crossed her face, and Len wondered if maybe the two of them had been close when they’d worked together. They both, after all, were awfully uptight.

“You want to use Hart as bait. No. No, that’s not happening.” Mark said. Although his words were quiet, the bolt of lightning punctuating his statement betrayed his anger.

“What else can we do?” Cisco cried, “Trust me, I don’t want to do this as much as you don’t, but if it will catch Wells, and this Black Speedster-“

“Then why don’t you play bait. _Hartley will not be hurt again,”_ snapped Mark, standing closer to Cisco.

“Mark-“Hartley began, but Cisco cut him off, “if we pull this off, Hartley will be fine. Unhurt.”

“And if we don’t, he’ll only be dead. Great plan there, _Cisquito.”_ Mark sneered.

“I want to do it,” Hartley said softly. 

“No, you don’t.” Mark said, turning to face Hartley, “You don’t want to do this. Why would you?”

Hartley mumbled something that to Len’s knowledge sounded suspiciously like, “Because I deserve it.”

“No-no, Hartley, come on. No, you don’t. C’mon. Please don’t do this.” Mark said. “Don’t do this to me, to us.”

“It’s my choice, Mark. I know you’re worried about me, but I’ll survive. I always do.” Hartley said, standing on his toes to throw his arms around Mark’s shoulders.

“’f you die,” Mark mumbled into Hartley’s hair, “I’ll resurrect you just so I can kill you myself. And say I told you so,”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Hartley whispered, his voice sounding choked up. When he parted from Mark, he turned to Cisco.

“So, Cisquito, what’s the plan?”

“ _Rathaway._ Where are you?” Barry boomed, his suit on.

“Aw, did you come back so I could kill you?” Hartley sneered from behind Barry. With a flick of his wrists, the glass above Barry’s head shattered.

“You know, Cisco, Caitlin and Wells told me you were smart, Hartley. Told me not to underestimate you. But here you are, again, just begging to get your ass kicked. Remember how well that worked for you last time?” Barry smirked, before a sudden explosion had him falling to the ground.

“Very well. I remember destroying your organs. But unfortunately, the good, benevolent doctor Wells encouraged you to torture me so you could lock me in a cage before I could finish you off.” Hartley sneered.

Len glanced up at the television screen where the fight was live recording. Anxiety niggled in his stomach. _Maybe Mardon was right. This is a bad idea._

Flipping Hartley onto his back, Barry smirked, letting his hand vibrate. For a moment, Hartley shifted, looking pale, and then he went back into character.

“As much as I’m sure you like a man on his back, you’re just not my type. I prefer my men with a bit of, well, brain activity.” Hartley gritted out, before kicking Barry off of him, sending him flying.

“Time to finish you off, _Scarlet,”_ Hartley smiled, sickeningly sweet, and stalked towards Barry. His gloves lit up, ready to emulate the deadly strike when a yellow blur rushed Hartley out of the room.

Lisa slammed her hand on the button that would activate the tracker in Hartley’s boots. Sure enough, in the two cars that would be taken, GPS lit up, alerting them to where Wells was taking Hartley.

Mick, Lisa, Len, Shawna and Mark slid into one. Axel, Tony, Cisco, Iris and Caitlin would take the second. Barry, too, would get a GPS. Cisco had added it to his suit, in the mask area. There was a headphone attached to one ear that would tell Barry where to go.

_In car one_

Lisa’s hands were tense as she drove, following the route perfectly. Mark and Shawna were talking quietly, earnestly.

And then the tracker stopped. A Street away, Lisa pulled up. Behind her, the other car halted. Grabbing his gun, Len stared at it, not really seeing it.

“Lenny, let’s go,” Lisa urged.

“Comin’” Len said, shaking out of his trance and trying to focus on the positive. Like, getting Hartley back safe and sound.

Following Barry into an abandoned warehouse, Len flinched slightly at the sound of electricity.

“Hey,” Barry said, slowing down to talk to him, “he’ll be alright,”

“How do you know that?” Len snapped. The tremor in his voice betrayed him.

“Because he’s Hartley and he may be two parts dick and three parts jerk, but he survives.”

“But how long do we expect him to keep surviving?” Len whispered. As they approached a steel door, there was a little noise of pain. Turning around, Barry saw Len’s jaw tighten, saw Lisa and Mick tighten their hands on their guns. Saw Mark’s fist turn white and his face just evaporate of emotion. Saw Shawna’s face turn into one of terror. Saw Axel turn terrifyingly relaxed. And saw Tony turn into metal.

The Rogues were a family. An evil, murderous, criminal family, but one that always looked out for each other even when they were turning on each other. And, Barry realised, though he may not have been the youngest, Hartley was the baby of the family. And he was in pain.

“Cisco?” Barry whispered.

“We now go by our codenames.” Cisco whispered, “Glider, Heatwave, Cold: you’re up. The signal for letting Mark, Barry, Axel and Tony know that they need to come in is _apple._ ”  The two Snarts looked at each other. Len iced the door, and Lisa kicked it in.

The man in yellow looked up. His mask was still on, eyes red. “Did you come here to watch your little friend die?”

Hartley whimpered, his right arm was at an awkward angle.

“I would say freeze,” Len drawled, trying to focus on the dialogue Cisco had taught him, “But that’s awfully cliché,”

And then he pulled the trigger, sending an ice cold ray at Wells, who neatly ducked out of the way.

“I haven’t introduced you to my friend, have I?” he asked, “ _Zoom!”_

“It’s going to be a pleasure,” Mick said, a pleasant smile settling on his features, “to watch you both burn.”

“Cute,” a dark voice said, from everywhere and nowhere. The man in the black suit entered. He vibrated his hand.

“Meet my friend, Zoom.” Harrison Wells said.

“You take care of the short one, the one you’ve been desperate to kill. Rathaway. I’ll take care of these three,”

And then he stalked towards Lisa, who attempted to gold him, but her gun was smacked out of her hands just before she could press the trigger. The man vibrated his hand above her heart.

“ _Apple._ ” Len said softly, and then louder, just as he threw himself at Lisa, knocking her out of the way. Zoom’s hand vibrated into his shoulder, causing him to cry out.

And then Zoom growled, turning away from Len. The back of his suit was singed and burnt.

“No one,” Mick said furiously, “is allowed to kill Snart except me,”

“That was a terrible mistake,” growled Zoom, stalking towards him.

“Actually, what _was_ a terrible idea was assuming they came alone,” Axel said in a chirpy tone, skipping into the room, followed by Mark, Barry and Tony. Barry and Tony were looking mistrustfully at each other.

“Flash,” Wells  said, sounding shocked.

“I think,” Barry said in a horrible, betrayed voice that hurt Len’s heart, “this is the part where you say, _run, Barry, run._ Or am I wrong about that, too?”

“I never intended to hurt you,” the man in yellow said, taking off his hood. Harrison Wells stared at Barry.

“You killed my mom!” Barry cried. All notions of following Cisco’s dialogue had since disappeared.

“I had to. I had to ensure you would become the Flash,” Wells said.

“You made sure I grew up alone, never seeing my father, being bullied by everyone at school because they all thought my dad was a killer. You ruined my life. And then you pretended to be my friend. You pretended to help me! I should have known. God, how could I not have known,” Barry went from yelling to whimpering.

“Barry, I don’t want to hurt you,” Wells said.

“Too late for that, isn’t it?” Barry sneered.

“Why don’t you tell us who you are? Really, this time?” Caitlin snapped, entering the room daintily while she pointed a taser at the man in yellow. Iris and Shawna were at her side, holding guns.

Cisco followed them in, holding a fire extinguisher. _Really? Of all weapons you could have chosen?_

“My name is not Harrison Wells,” the man said, looking very contrite, “it’s Eobard Thawne. And I’m from the future. I needed the Flash to take me back to my own timeline. That’s why I couldn’t have anyone hurt him.”

 “Why hurt Hartley?” Mark snarled, fists going white. Thunder boomed outside, indicating that he was rapidly losing control over his emotions.

“He tried to kill the Flash. And he almost succeeded.” Eobard said in a serious tone.  “Why do you care anyway? It’s not like Hartley’s beneficial to anyone,”

A growl escaped Mick’s throat, and with a furious glare, he pressed the trigger on the heat gun, focusing it on Lisa.

“Mick!” Lisa cried. The flame went straight past her, hitting Zoom and sending him away from her. _Cold vs speed. Cold stopped Barry._

Just as Zoom recovered from the attack and started towards Mick, a whine echoed through the room. Ice coated Zoom from his chest to his toes, sticking his arms to his side and his feet together.

“Why don’t we find out who you really are?” Axel asked, walking over to Zoom and taking off his mask. It was a female with long auburn hair.

“Who are you?” asked Iris, pointing her gun at the woman.

“My name is Jesse. Jesse Quick. But you can call me Zoom,” the woman said, a slowly and decidedly evil smile crossing her face.

“And why do you want to kill us?” Cisco asked, pouting, “We don’t even know you!”

_Earth-2_

_Jesse was strapped down to a table. Harrison Wells, or the Earth-2 version of him, injected her with a series of drugs, causing her to scream._

_“No! Dad, stop!”_

_“It’ll all be over soon, Jess. Just be my good girl, okay? You can handle this,” Harrison said, leaning down and kissing her on the forehead, “you’re doing so well.”_

_Tears formed in Jesse’s eyes as another injection of the substance was forced into her bloodstream. But this time, she didn’t cry out, she just clenched her jaw and tried to block out the pain._

_Her father smiled fondly down at her, “I just need to make a phone call. I’ll be back soon, Jesse.”_

_After he walked out, Jesse finally broke into tears. Underneath the cuffs on her wrist, her hands vibrated so quickly they blurred._

_“Don’t wanna run,” Jesse murmured as a blurry figure walked into the room. Just before she could say otherwise, she blacked out._

_Unbeknownst to her, her body was crackling with lightening_

_Now_

_Earth-1_

“Your dad experimented on you?” Caitlin asked, her eyes wide and sympathetic.

“Father of the year, right?” Jesse laughed, “So I got out and I carved out his heart. And then I ran, so fast, I fell into a portal. One that took me here. But in the future, that’s where I met Eo,”

“Eo?” Barry asked, taking a hesitant step towards her.

 “I love him,” Jesse said softly, and then she repeated it, loudly, angrily. Defiantly, almost. Like she had something to prove. Len glanced at her for a moment.

She may have been a twisted bitch, but she was one who had spent her life being manipulated by men. Eobard had a sickening smile on his face.

“But he doesn’t love you, Jesse,” Len wasn’t sure who had spoken, until everyone had looked at him. “Eobard Thawne did the same thing to Barry, to Hartley,” Hartley who had managed to stand up by now and was limping as quickly as he could over to them, shaking off any notions of help. “If you stop him, you can prevent him from using you just like he used them. Just like he’ll kill you.”

“Shut up,” Jesse said, very softly.

“He almost killed Barry! Multiple times!” Cisco said, after glancing at Len.

“ _Shut up,”_ Jesse said, in the same soft voice, but in a slightly harder one. “He wouldn’t do that! He said-“

“Let me guess. Shit along the lines of: _in many ways you have shown me what it’s like to have son. I’ve grown quite fond of you._ You know when he said that to me, Jesse? When he killed me!”

“And yet you’re still standing,” Jesse said, snivelling.

“Thanks to Barry. He ran so quickly, he- no pun intended- reversed the timeline. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for him.” Cisco said gently, “Jesse, I don’t want that for you.”

“You can join us.” Caitlin called out, dropping the taser and stepping closer.

Len made eye contact with her and smiled reassuringly, “don’t let this man hurt you.”

Which was the wrong thing to say. Jesse’s eyes narrowed dangerously. Her hand dropped down her suit. Too late, Len realised there was a gun holster in her suit.

Time slowed down.

Jesse pulled out the gun and pointed it at Leonard, pulling the trigger. An explosion of light as the bullet flew out of the machinery, straight at his heart.

He vaguely heard Lisa scream, saw the blurs of lightening as Barry sped towards him, looking terrified. Mick let out a growl and fire whipped out of his gun. Caitlin ran towards him too, grabbing at the fabrics of her skirt.

And then he heard the sound of a bullet entering flesh. But he didn’t feel any pain. Looking down, Len expected to see blood soaking the fabric of his parka, expected everything to go painfully bright and expected to feel so much pain.

All he saw was Hartley collapsing to the ground, a bullet in his shoulder. And then everything went bright.

Somewhere, Shawna let out a scream of pain. Not the kind of pain where you’re hurt, the kind of pain where so much emotion has roiled up inside you, all you can do is scream. She let out another scream, and collapsed. Lisa fell to the ground next to her and threw her arms around Shawna’s shoulders, her body shaking uncontrollably as she clutched to the other girls shoulders.

“No-no. Hartley, you _fucking idiot._ What are you –what did you do? Why did you-?” Len gasped, collapsing on his knees next to Hartley’s very small body.

“Y’don’t need me. I’m just...a waste of...breath,” Hartley wheezed out, a very innocent look on his features.

“No, God, Hartley, _no._ Don’t say that. Don’t ever say that. Okay? You are talented and smart and...god, no. Do _not close your eyes,”_

“You son of a bitch,” Mark whispered from Hartley’s other side, lifting up his hand and squeezing it gently. A look of relief settled on his features, and he nodded at Len. Hartley still had a pulse.

“Yeah, I am. Mark, are you _crying?”_ Hartley asked, struggling to sit up.

“I need an ambulance!” Caitlin was shouting into a celluar phone. A blur of blue and red lightening flickered through the room. Jesse and Eobard were gone.

And then Barry rushed to Leonard’s side, looking stricken.

“Oh my God, Hartley. It’ll be okay. Okay? I’m sorry I wasn’t fast enough...never fast enough.”

“Amazing. You still look as good in head-to-toe leather as you did last time.” Hartley slurred. His blue eyes focussed on Shawna and Lisa.

“Shawna. I needa talk t’you.” Hartley said through whimpers of pain.

“Yeah, Hart?” Shawna sniffled, coming to sit near Hartley, brushing back hair from his face. The two of them had always had that kind of friendship, where it was like siblings who had known the other their whole life.

“You’re my _best friend._ No matter what. You, too, Mardon, even if Shawna is less of an idiot than you. Okay?”

“Okay, but nothing will happen to you, you little brat. We called the ambulances. They’re on their way. I promise,” Shawna said anxiously.

“I’m sleepy,” Hartley said with the kind of wide-eyed innocence that must’ve been reminiscent of a time where all he had to care about was the right kind of tie to wear to Christmas Dinner.

“Tough shit, Rathaway,” Cisco said, sounding like he was trying not to cry, “Besides, I thought you didn’t sleep.”

“He doesn’t.” Axel said, staring at Hartley with a pale face and wide eyes.

“Ax...” Hartley sighed. “Don’t look at me like that. Come on, Axe. Come on. It’ll be alright. You have Shawna and Mark and Mick and Len and Lisa. You don’t need me.”

“Yeah, we do, Hart,” Mark said gently, tightening his fingers around Hartley’s wrist. The gentle pressure and the fact that it was _Mark_ made Hartley quieten.

And then he closed his eyes.

About 5 minutes later, the medical team pulled up, shouting orders. Three men picked up Hartley and put him on a stretcher.

“Is there any immediate family here?” one man said gently.

“I’m his brother, and she’s his sister.” Mark said, placing an arm around Lisa’s shoulders. The man looked at the pair, clearly not believing it. He allowed them into the back, anyway.

Len picked up Hartley’s glasses, dazedly reasoning that Hartley would be upset if they broke. They were quite costly, after all.

Lisa texted him. Hartley was alive, thank God, but he would be in surgery. No visitors until the next day.

“Snart,” Barry said behind him. Len turned around and Barry pulled the older man into a hug, gently rubbing his back and apologising into his ear.

“I went for you, and not Hartley. I didn’t even see him until he’d gotten shot.” Barry whispered into Len’s ear.

“Lise texted me. He needs surgery.” Len whispered before being pulled into another tight hug.

 

Almost against his will, Len couldn’t help but remember his nightmare from what seemed like so long ago.

Bad things always happened after Lewis Snart appeared in his dreams.


	7. 7

Mick gripped Lenny's hand in the hospital room. Just like the rest of him, it was ice cold. Mick sometimes wondered how Len did it: voyaged through life, icy cold and numb. Indifferent. Mick needed the fire, needed the burn to know he was alive. 

 

Except. Except this time, it wasn't Len who was cold and Mick who was fiery. Len's emotions were all over his face. Mick closed his eyes and swallowed, remembering when Lenny called him, saying Lisa was unconscious in her own blood. When Mick arrived, Lenny had had the same expression on his face. 

 

"Not your fault, y'know that?" Mick whispered. When Len failed to respond, Mick squeezed his hand harder. "Not your fault Hartley's a brat. Not your fault your dad's a homicidal maniac. We can't choose our blood family," Mick looked up at Barry, who seemed very unimpressed with Mick's comforting. Getting up, the pyromaniac decided to get some air.

 

"Mr. Rory," a voice said. Mick looked up to see F.I.R.E.S.T.O.R.M flying towards him, flames shooting out of hands. Despite his best efforts to seem indifferent, Mick's eyes never strayed from the fire. When they got down, Mick realised something. 

 

"You got a haircut," he uttered. The man on fire seemed amused. 

 

"Yeah. We did," 

 

"We?" Mick asked, realising the mans words a second later. Raymond played with a large...thing on his chest, and they separated. They being Ronnie and an old man. 

 

"Cute trick," Mick tried to sneer. But his facade dropped a moment later. 

 

"I heard about Rathaway," Raymond offered. "I'm sorry,"

 

"How?" Mick asked. 

 

"Cait," was all Raymond said. Cait. Lisa's girlfriend. Dr. Snow. 

 

"Oh." Mick said softly

 

"I was engaged to her once. And then... _this_ happened to me. Now she's dating Snart's evil baby sister," Raymond said, before going pale  as he realised who he was talking to. 

 

"Oh. Sorry." 

 

"We are villains and she is his baby sister, why are you apologising?" Mick asked. He couldn't understand why people apologised for calling him evil or a villain. Cisco did it so many times, sweating. So did Barry, as a matter of fact. He was evil, he was a villain. It seemed as simple a fact to him like the sun was hot or the sky was blue. 

 

To his statement, Raymond cracked a small smile. 

 

"Ronald, if you need to see dr. Snow, then I suggest you move along," the old man said. 

 

As they merged into one another, Mick reached out to touch the flames. 

 

"Sorry, mister Rory! You could get burnt!" The man, Ronald, laughed as he flew into the hospital. Mick stared after for a moment before following. 

 

He didn't see how that would be a problem. 

 

After all, he needed the burn. 

 

 

A/N:

short chapter, sorry, hopefully next one will be longer! 


	8. 8

Tony knew he wasn't at fault. Logically, he knew this. But emotionally...he didn't. 

Hartley was lying in hospital, internally bleeding. And Tony hadn't stopped it. 

 

He glanced at Len who looked as wrecked as Tony felt. The man's blue eyes were swollen with either no sleep or tears. Tony didn't know what was worse. Mick walked up behind him and gently- for Mick- placed a paper cup of coffee into Len's hands and then let Len lean into him. 

 

Lisa was sitting with Shawna and Mark, head in Shawna's lap as she slept for the first time. Shawna, in turn, was leaning against Mark as she slept. Mark sat awake, looking  _wrecked_. Tony sighed. He knew Mark and Hartley and Shawna had been close, and the lack of response regarding the young geniuses condition must have been upsetting them. 

 

Tony yawned, and felt something get pressed into his hand. He froze, turned, and saw Barry standing there, the young hero smiling hopefully at him. For a moment, Tony's heart ached for the love he could have had. 

 

But then it faded. Like all crushes, Tony would move on. And Barry was over him, if the dopey way he was looking at Snart had anything to be said about. 

 

"You didn't have to do this," Tony muttered, bringing the coffee to his lips. 

 

"Yeah, but I wanted to. Look, in high school, you were a dick.  _Worse_ than a dick. You ruined my life," Barry said. Tony sighed, averting his eyes. 

 

"But that was then and this is now. You've changed, Tony. I know you're a good person, deep down. I can see that you're not a monster. Nor stupid. You've found your family, and I've found mine," 

 

Tony turned to look at Barry. The stupidly naive hero didn't break eye contact with him, but had a growing smirk on his face. 

 

"Truce?" Tony said, holding out his hand. Barry grinned delightedly and shook it, and then skipped off to find Len. 

 

Tony watched him go, a frown settling on his face.  _It must be nice,_ he thought,  _to have so much hope in the world._

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Eddie," Iris said tearfully, but Eddie turned from her anyway. 

 

He loved her,  _God,_ he loved her, so he had to stay away from her. As if sensing his mixed feelings,  his fingers vibrated in his pocket. He bit down and they stopped. Barry was The Flash, and he couldn't be a hero.

 

He had to be normal. Or else he would fall apart. 

 

"Detective Thawne!" Leonard Snart announced, putting on a brave face. Hartley was going to recover, but the Rogues were still disappointed. Eddie glanced at Tony Woodward from the corner of his eye. 

 

The criminal was leaning against the wall, unfairlygood looking, and Eddie frowned. He had to stop thinking like that. It was like the meta thing, completely unreasonable. 

 

Eddie forced a smile on his face as Barry put a hand on his shoulder, concerned. "'m fine. I'm fine," Eddie lied. 

 

 

For a minute, Eddie made eye contact with Tony. A split second of understanding was there, before blankness. 

 

And just maybe, Eddie Thawne wasn't the only liar in this room. 

**Author's Note:**

> So that was in Hartley's point of view!
> 
> There's more to his backstory, which I will get to in later chapters, but the next one is in Len's point of view.


End file.
